Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
HOMEBREW Digest #1403
This file received at Sierra.Stanford.EDU 94/04/20 00:29:17
HOMEBREW Digest #1403 Wed 20 April 1994
FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
Rob Gardner, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Ammonia?! (Jason Sloan)
Receipes Wanted. (Rnarvaez)
Drawing Wort (John McCauley)
Beer Across America (David Brewer)
Re: Williams (Wyeast) Yeast ("Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616")
B.O.S.S. Results (Michael L Montgomery +1 708 979 4132)
FACTS PLEASE (Jack Schmidling)
cheap airstone (btalk)
Re: Bottling foamy lagers (Summary) (Bill Szymczak)
All-grain set up costs (19-Apr-1994 0903 -0400)
Are garbage bags/containers foodgrade? ("Klaus Vogel")
Re: Moss (Jeff Frane)
Hop Production (Jeff Frane)
Starting all-grain (Rich Larsen)
subscription ("Shawn M. Gaskill")
Old Fridge. ("Steven E. Matkoski")
Mashing Crystal (npyle)
grain cracking (crushing) (Scott McLagan)
Steel Cut Oats? (Roland Bassett)
Grolsch bottles (Jim Grady)
Brass / Zima (Robert H. Reed)
brewpubs/micros in Wash. D.C. & kegging system (Jeffrey A. Ziehler)
extract vs all grain, TB BEERS? (fudgemastr)
Barrier Zips? (npyle)
Re: Cost results and Cooler question... ("Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616")
Notes on a London Beer Hunt ("CANNON_TOM")
Carpils/Mashout by adding hot water/tapping your chest/Kazakhstan (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Beginner Recipe (Rich Larsen)
Enamel on steel pots ("Glenace L. Melton")
Re: hoptech ? ("Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616")
Watney's Red Barrel Recipe (Timothy Sixberry)
Send articles for __publication_only__ to homebrew@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com
(Articles are published in the order they are received.)
Send UNSUBSCRIBE and all other requests, ie, address change, etc.,
to homebrew-request@hpfcmi.fc.hp.com, BUT PLEASE NOTE that if
you subscribed via the BITNET listserver (BEER-L@UA1VM.UA.EDU),
then you MUST unsubscribe the same way!
If your account is being deleted, please be courteous and unsubscribe first.
FAQs, archives and other files are available via anonymous ftp from
sierra.stanford.edu. (Those without ftp access may retrieve files via
mail from listserv@sierra.stanford.edu. Send HELP as the body of a
message to that address to receive listserver instructions.)
Please don't send me requests for back issues - you will be silently ignored.
For "Cat's Meow" information, send mail to lutzen@novell.physics.umr.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 20:42:40 -0400
From: aa3625@freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu (Jason Sloan)
Subject: Ammonia?!
Well, it goes like this:
A friend and I sampled a little too much of the product one
night and decided to cook something up. We added a can of cheap
light malt, a pound of honey, and a gallon of H2O to a kettle.
We boiled this for awhile and then added 1/2 tsp IM and 1/4 tsp
fresh ground cinnamon. We boiled some more and then removed from
the fire and added another 1/4 tsp cinnamon. We brought up to
5 gal in a clean fermenter (bleach sanitized) and pitched a rehydrated
packet of yeast (included with the malt).
We unfortunately ran into a problem of some sort. The airlock
never seemed to start going, even after a couple of days. We got
a bit impatient and looked under the lid and it sure looked like
it had been fermenting so we decided to rack to a primary for the
sheer unadulterated Hell of it. My partner decided to see what the
stuff in the primary smelled like, and afterwards he was compelled
to go reeling across the room. Being the quick thinker that I am
, I decided that I would sniff of it too. Yes, I too went reeling.
This stuff smelled like lab grade ammonia, so we dumped it
down the sewer drain in front of his house (probably destroying
a thriving sewer ecosystem in the process, oh well).
So tell me, am I right to assume that this is an ammonia-
producing bacterial infection, or is my friend right, and cinnamon
is a pretty silly thing to throw into wort when you don't have a
recipe.
Please let me know if I can start throwing cinnamon and honey
into batches again. If this makes for a bad combination, I'd appreciate
that information too.
Thanks!
P.S. Yes, we did keep better records of our procedures than I'm
indicating, I just don't have them with me. I somehow talked him
into keeping all of the smelly and explosive things at his place.
P.P.S. Should we keep the recipe and go into business with a
chemical company? :)
- --
Jason Sloan
sloan01?jason@cc01.mssc.edu or aa3625@freenet.lorain.oberlin.edu
- ---Yo ho ho and a bucket of homebrew...
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 15:06:26 -0500
From: Rnarvaez@lan.mcl.bdm.com
Subject: Receipes Wanted.
Hello all fellow home brewers.
I am attempting to write a program which will catalog homebrew recipes
and allow for the users to add and modify recipes. I would like to include
some recipes in the program and I have a few of my own but would like to
get some more. All recipes that are included in the program will have the
name of the person(s) who have submitted it and will be kept in its original
format.
If you would like to help me out please Email me your favorite recipe at
RNarvaez@lan.mcl.bdm.com
Thanks.
Don't take life too seriously,
it isn't a permanent thing.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 23:40:14
From: john.mccauley@his.com (John McCauley)
Subject: Drawing Wort
I have discovered a method of drawing wort from fermenters for specific
gravity checks requiring almost nil air contact. A typical three piece air
lock provides too small an opening for things like basters. Physicians,
however, seem to have no problems getting liquids out of small openings. So I
asked my sister, a physician, for ideas. She provided me with a 60cc syringe
and a 65cm catheter tube (both were past their expiration date and were to be
disposed of anyway). Slice off the last inch or two of the catheter, slide it
through the air lock and draw your wort.
I realize that you will need a friend in the health care industry to find this
stuff, but if you have one this is a great method. Note that I don't encourage
the pilfering of hospital supplies, but if the gear is expired and would be
destroyed anyway, what's the harm?
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 94 20:59:07 -0700
From: David Brewer <dbrewer@eastlake.nwest.mccaw.com>
Subject: Beer Across America
I saw a recent post that mentioned something called Beer
Across America. Could anyone who is in the know please
email me concerning this and any similar programs? Thanks,
you may find yourself in my will ;).
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 7:20:52 EDT
From: "Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616" <wagnecz@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Re: Williams (Wyeast) Yeast
Question 1: its more profitable for them to package and sell the kit than
to have you hunt down the ingredients yourself. It also guarantees that
all the ingredients will come from one source -them.
Question 2: 1098 British Ale (1 st. guess) 1028 London Ale (2nd. guess)
Do I win a maltmill??? (just kidding :) )
Glen
------------------------------
Date: 19 Apr 94 12:20:00 GMT
From: mlm01@intgp1.att.com (Michael L Montgomery +1 708 979 4132)
Subject: B.O.S.S. Results
B.O.S.S. Challenge '94
Below are the results from the B.O.S.S. Challenge'94 that was held on
March 26 in Lockport, IL. There were 120 entries to which 57 ribbons
were awarded. The results were as follows:
German Ales American Ales
- ----------- -------------
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society Andrew Fineberg - Seattle S.S. Brewers
Bill Siel - Bidal Society of Kenosha Andrew Fineberg - Seattle S.S. Brewers
Bill Siel - Bidal Society of Kenosha Mike Sellman - Chicago Beer Society
Pale American Lagers English Pale Ales
- -------------------- -----------------
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society Andrew Fineberg - Seattle S.S. Brewers
Jay Schmid - Club Wort Dave & Melinda Brockington S.S.S. Brwrs
Brian & Linda North - Beer Barons/Milw. Mike Montgomery - Urban Knaves Of Grain
German Wheat Herb/Spice
- -------------- ---------------
Thomas Stolfi - Bidal Society/Konosha Mike Pezan - B.O.S.S.
John Walaszek - Chicago Beer Society John Walaszek - Chicago Beer Society
Tom Manteufel
Brown Ales
- ------------- Belgian Ales
Steve Williams - B.O.S.S. ---------------
Thomas Stolfi - Bidal Society/Konosha Dave Norton - Bidal Society/Konosha
David Schoemaker- Club Wort Dave Norton - Bidal Society/Konosha
Tony Babinec - Chicago Beer Society
Porter
- ------------ Barley Wines
Andrew Fineberg - Seattle S.S. Brewers ----------------
Marvin Crippen - Seattle S.S. Brewers Brian & Linda North - Beer Barons/Milw.
John Walaszek - Chicago Beer Society Al Korzonas - B.O.S.S.
Len Bergonia - B.O.S.S.
Dark Lagers
- ------------- Stout
Rob Reed - Bull & Stump Brew Club -----------------
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society Al Korzonas - B.O.S.S.
Al Korzonas - B.O.S.S.
Amber Lagers Gary Hauser - B.O.S.S.
- -------------
Chuck Taylor - Urban Knaves Of Grain Bitters/Scottish
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society ---------------------
George Fix - North Texas Homebrewers Thomas Stolfi - Bidal Society/Konosha
John Walaszek - Chicago Beer Society
Pilsners & Pale Lagers John Dalton - B.O.S.S.
- ----------------------
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society Specialty/Fruit
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society ----------------
Mike Hansen David Schoemaker- Club Wort
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society
Mead Dave Norton - Bidal Society/Konosha
- ----------------------
Rob Reed - Bull & Stump Brew Club Smoked Beers
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society ------------------
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society
Strong Ales David Schoemaker- Club Wort
- ------------------------ John Dalton - B.O.S.S.
Ray Daniels - Chicago Beer Society
Gary Hauser - B.O.S.S.
John Dalton - B.O.S.S.
BEST OF SHOW
------------
First - Thomas Stolfi - Ordinary Bitter
Second - David Schoemaker - Whiskey Stout
Third - Ray Daniels - Cream Ale
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 08:00 CDT
From: arf@mcs.com (Jack Schmidling)
Subject: FACTS PLEASE
>From: Kinney Baughman <BAUGHMANKR@conrad.appstate.edu>
>Did I leave out anything important here?
As a matter of fact, YES. You left out the answer to my question and
substituted another lecture on water chemistry quoted from several well known
publications.
Nowhere in the material cited did I see the word "wildly" with reference to
variations in extract yield as a function of municipalities mucking around
with the water.
At this point in time, I have lost interest in the answer but if you wish to
try again.... you stated that day to day changes in your city's water
chemistry/biology caused "widely varying changes in extract yield". As those
are your words and not a citation from a book, I asked you to put some
numbers on the range, based on your experience.
What I expected was for you to say something like... we got a yield of 33
points one day and 18 the next or perhaps just that it varried by 10 or 40
per cent from day to day and the only variable was the water supply which we
checked and found to have varied as follows..... etc.
All I get are lectures on chemistry and diplomacy ad nausiam.
As Joe Friday used to say.... "just the facts please".
Just for the record, it was you who called me a liar and fraud when I
reported to have sold 100 MALTMILLS and gave one away to show my appreciation
to the net.folk. As a result, I have felt totally at liberty to keep you
honest ever since. If you wish to apologize for your rash statement, I am
more than willing to get out of your hair.
js
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 09:07:24 EDT
From: btalk@aol.com
Subject: cheap airstone
I found an airstone substitute that is essentially a 2 inch long piece of
light blue tubing with a zillion holes poked in it, plugged at one end and
some sort of fitting to connect to air pump tubing. I removed the fitting and
stuck the perf tubing into the end of my plastic racking cane. Ohterwise the
thing would float to the top on my carboy! Just don't stir too vigorously, or
else the aerator may fall out of the racking cane! i sanitize w/chlorine
solution, rinse well,etc. Seems to be easier to rinse than airstone.Plus
their are cheap.
I got some sort of disc shaped air filter from a respiratory health supply
place for $3.00.
regards, Bob Talkiewicz <btalk@aol.com>
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 09:15:52 EDT
From: bszymcz%ulysses@relay.nswc.navy.mil (Bill Szymczak)
Subject: Re: Bottling foamy lagers (Summary)
In summary on the problem I was having with bottling lagers with a lot
of foam: (I only had 2 responses but they were in agreement.)
The solution is to simply leave the lagers out overnight to
stabilize at room temperature before bottling. At colder temperatures
the beer can contain a lot more dissolved gas (it can't hold any
at boiling temperatures) which will escape (foam) as the beer is
warmed up while bottling. It should have been obvious to me as
I've done some cavitating at work, but I guess I had to see it
to really believe it.
>From: jeff_sargent@il.us.swissbank.com (Jeff Sargent)
>Subject: r.e. Subject: Bottling foamy lagers
>I just bottled a Weissbeer last week, that had been in a secondary
>for about a week -- and had the exact same problem, though not to
>that extent. In fact I was also using a bottling bucket w/spigot,
>a short length of tubing, and a phils philler.
>I am still not sure how the foam was being produced -- although I am
>starting to think the phils philler may be responsible. It is nice
>to use and leaves little headspace, but it may be aerating the beer.
>I haven't had that much experience with the old spring-loaded fillers
>to say for sure.
I think that unless your secondary fermentation temperature was
lower than room temperature, or your bottles were warm, your
foaming may have been caused by a combination of too much
splashing at the beginning of filling and the extra proteins in
your Weissbeer. I've used both types of fillers, and found that
with each the splashing (and foaming) can be reduced by starting
off very slowly. If anything, the phils filler has produced less
foam and I've had no problems with bottling other ales.
Bill Szymczak
bszymcz@ulysses.nswc.navy.mil
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 09:11:03 EDT
From: 19-Apr-1994 0903 -0400 <ferguson@zendia.enet.dec.com>
Subject: All-grain set up costs
An all-grain set up doesn't need to cost a ton of money. With a little bit
of scrounging around, you can do it for less than $100. Here were my
costs:
- king kooker stove, 200k BTU, used $ 20.00
- propane tank free (i volunteer @ the local dump) $ 0.00
- 20lb propane $ 8.00
- 2 buckets for lauter-tun (friend works w/ mass amts of food) $ 0.00
- 50ft wort chiller, i bought the parts and made it myself $ 29.00
- 15.5 gallon converted sankey keg with spigot $ 45.00
- old coleman cooler for mashing $ 0.00
-------
$ 94.00
I get more enjoyment out of all-grain than I do extract: that right there
is worth the price of the equipment. Just look around, scam things one at
a time, and next thing ya know, you're ready to roll. I still need to get
a Gott cooler or perhaps another sankey keg for mashtun.
JC
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 09:33:50 EDT
From: "Klaus Vogel" <VOGEL@net2.eos.uoguelph.ca>
Subject: Are garbage bags/containers foodgrade?
I hope someone out there can answer a question that has bothered me
for years.I currently use standard garbage bags to cover my primary
fermenter.This cover of course contacts the wort.Is this safe?I have
shopped around for different brands and some say "Not for storage of
food" but I have never found any that claim to be safe for food
storage.If I establish the safety issue,I plan on using garbage bags
as a liner for my primary fermenter as this would guarantee sterility
and minimize clean-up time.
Years ago I purchased a rubbermaid roughneck garbage container to use
as a primary fermenter for a batch of cider myself and a friend were
making.Before using it I became concerned about whether the garbage
container was safe for food storage and I ended up not using it.It
is still stored in my basement unused.So my second question is,is
this garbage container safe to use as a fermenter and if not,where can
I get a safe liner?
And continuing along the line of the safety/health issue, I recently
read an article on use of chlorine.Apparently chlorine can form a wide
array of potentially hazardous compouds most of which have not even
been identified yet.As well,a recent study indicates that chlorine
use since the early 50's has resulted in a 50% reduction in sperm
count.Not a good thing even if you are not planning to have more
kids.My question is ,How long do I have to boil water to completely
get rid of the chlorine?Will boiling eliminate the hazardous compounds
formed by the interaction of chlorine and other substances?
Sincerely,Klaus
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 06:34:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: gummitch@teleport.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Re: Moss
Note to all: simply because Jack has promoted me to Oracle 2 does not
mean I do not know the difference between Irish and Spanish Moss. I do
*not* know who stuck the Irish with this confused label, but I do know
that one grows in the garden and the other in the sea.
For those who may have missed the boat, however: Irish Moss is made from
processed seaweed. As such, it is algae (probably phaeophitae, if my
memory is of any use at all -- and no points on correcting my spelling).
I do not know what Jack has succeeded in doing by adding real moss to
his beer, but I'm sure we are at the birth of a new legend.
- --Jeff
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 06:43:44 -0700 (PDT)
From: gummitch@teleport.com (Jeff Frane)
Subject: Hop Production
Anyone care to make an educated guess as to the highest production
variety in each of the following categories, here in the U.S.?:
Aroma Hops:
Middle Alpha Varieties:
High Alpha Varieties:
Answers coming soon.
- --Jeff
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 08:43:23 -0500 (CDT)
From: Rich Larsen <richl@access1.speedway.net>
Subject: Starting all-grain
All the discussion on all grain conversion and cost to do so
has prompted me to respond. High cost of extra equipment? Hogwash
When I started mashing, I didn't buy any extra equipment. Sure I've
added some gadgets along the way, but these can and should be used in
extract brewing as well. I.E. An immersion chiller.
If you want to keep your cost down on equipment, use a little ingenuity
to beg, borrow, or steal what you need. Also shop around. I have a 24
quart canning pot that I purchased from the local grocery store for $15.00.
This would be fine for average gravity range mashes. 1.030-1.060. For
higher gravities, you can make less beer. To mash around 20+ pounds of
grain, I was forced to by a larger pot. (8.5 gallon for $29.00)
If you need buckets, check with donut shops and see if they have any 5 gallon
buckets kicking around. These buckets usually contained things like egg
yolks or fruit fillings. Avoid the pickle buckets from fast food joints,
the vinegar/spices may leave an off flavor in your beer... (hmmm... do I
detect a bit of dill in this pilsner? Not in style, I would think)
Anyway, I mash on the stove top, in the brewpot. I bring the temp up with
hot water initially, and check and adjust every 20 minutes or so. If you
want to check less, you can place it in the insulated box already in
your kitchen. The oven. Just leave the heat off and it will hold the temp
for at least 60 minutes. This is a bit of a pain to move the full pot from
stove to the oven, thats why I do it all on the stove top.
For a lauter tun, take one of the buckets, or an old plastic fermenter that
is too scratched for fermenting, drill a hole in the side large enough to
accept a 6 1/2 rubber stopper (I'm sure you have one of these laying around)
insert a piece of siphon hose through the hole (got that too huh?) Place a
hose clamp on the hose, and rubber band a copper or stainless chore
boy(tm) ($1.00 for two?) to the end of the hose inside the tun. (Cheap
EasyMasher(t(tm)m(tm))) An option is to insulate the tun, and it usualy helps
prevent stuck run-offs on higher gravity mashes. An R-22 mylar/bubble wrap
insulation can be bought from the hardware store, or I suspect a couple of
layers of packaging bubble wrap (scrounged from work) will work as well.
Transfer the mash to the tun, cover, and clean out the brewpot. Use beer
pitchers to recirculate the run-off. When you feel you've recirculated
enough, let the run-off go right to the brewpot.
IWFM
=> Rich
Rich Larsen (708) 388-3514
The Blind Dog Brewery "HomeBrewPub", Midlothian, IL
(Not a commercial establishment)
"I never drink... Wine." Bela Lugosi as Dracula
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 10:07:49 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Shawn M. Gaskill" <gaskill@WPI.EDU>
Subject: subscription
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 10:00:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Steven E. Matkoski" <sematkos@syr.edu>
Subject: Old Fridge.
I have an old refridge in my garage and several people have told me it is
an antique. I want to fix it and use it for my brew, I dont keg yet but
will someday soon. The problem isnt really brew related but I thought I
would ask to see if anyone else has done it. The lines for the freezer
have been split, so I want to remove the freezer section (just a couple
ice cube tray holders) and reseal the lines. How does one do this? How do
I remove the thermostat for the freezer? I dont want to butcher the thing
because it is in good shape. Any ideas? Thanks!
-steve. ... reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
sematkos@syr.edu if your cup be full may it be again.
-Ripple GD
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 9:39:37 MDT
From: npyle@n33.ecae.stortek.com
Subject: Mashing Crystal
Bill H. writes:
>...... She said, when you think about it, specialties such as crystal
>have already been mashed in the grain and the only thing left is
>unfermentables; therefore, being thrown in with the mash really can't do
>much more to them...................................................
This isn't logical. The mash contains enzymes which work to break down
starches into fermentable and unfermentable sugars. The longer the enzymes
are allowed to work, the more fermentable sugars (smaller sugars) are
produced as the enzymes chop away (remember Charlie's picture of the little
lumberjacks?). I can't see how the unfermentable sugars in crystal malt are
immune to this enzymatic activity in the mash.
Cheers,
Norm = npyle@n33.stortek.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 10:14:01 -0700
From: smclagan@schdist43.bc.ca (Scott McLagan)
Subject: grain cracking (crushing)
Greetings Brewmeisters,
I've been adding specialty grains to an extract brew but
haven't acquired a good technique for cracking the grain
before cooking. The guy at the supply store told be to
use a rolling pin but I gave up after squirting
grain all over the kitchen. Then I tried a quick 3-second
burst in my coffee grinder. This works fairly well, but
inevitably pulverizes the grain which results in a slight
'husky' taste.
I would appreciate your suggestions for grain cracking. Please
mail to me and I'll draft a quick summary for the digest.
Cheers,
Scott McLagan (smclagan@schdist43.bc.ca)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 13:23:20 EDT
From: rolando@galileo.harvard.edu (Roland Bassett)
Subject: Steel Cut Oats?
I have a question. I want to make an oatmeal stout, and several of
the recipes that I've seen call for steel cut oats. What are these?
Are Quaker oats good enough, or is this a stupid question?
Email or posts welcome. Thanks a lot!
RLB
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roland Bassett | Roland's rules on baseball:
(rolando@sdac.harvard.edu) | 1) Always root for the CUBS
SDAC | 2) Always root against the mets
Harvard School of Public Health | 3) Always root for the National League
617-432-0040 | except when this conflicts with rule 2
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 13:26:06 EDT
From: Jim Grady <grady@hpangrt.an.hp.com>
Subject: Grolsch bottles
Norm writes:
> is early, but you have less to worry about than you might think. If the
> bottles are truly "similar to Grolsch" then I would venture to say you will
> not have bottle bombs. The Grolsch bottles are especially thick and the
> rubber seal at the top will give up before the glass. The other thing you
I had a Grolsch bottle go before the rubber seal. I was making root
beer so it was not nearly as controlled as making beer but it was the
glass that went, not the stopper.
- --
Jim Grady
grady@hp-mpg.an.hp.com
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 10:30:24 -0700
From: Richard B. Webb <rbw1271@appenine.ca.boeing.com>
Subject: Sugar and Acid content (by weight) of many fruits.
The following is copied direct and *without* permission
from "The Curious Cook" by Harold McGee. The data comes
from a chapter on how to make fruit ices, but I think that
the information could be of interest to zymologists
of all persuasions, although it may be more appropriate
for those looking for balance in sugar and acid content
for mead or wine making.
Fruit Sugar Content Acid Content
%of fresh weight %of fresh weight
Lime 1% 5.0%
Avocado 1 0.2
Lemon 2 5.0
Tomato 3 0.5
Cranberry 4 3.0
Red Currant 6 1.8
Grapefruit 6 2.0
Guava 7 0.4
Cantaloupe 7 0.2
Strawberry 7 1.6
Raspberry 7 1.6
Blackberry 8 1.5
Papaya 8 0.1
Apricot 9 1.7
Watermelon 9 0.2
Peach 9 0.4
Black Currant 10 3.2
Pear 10 0.1
Honeydew 10 0.2
Orange 11 1.2
Plum 11 0.6
Blueberry 11 0.3
Gooseberry 11 1.8
Passion Fruit 11 3.0
Prickly Pear 11 0.1
Mango 11 0.5
Pineapple 13 1.1
Pomegranate 13 1.2
Apple 13 0.8
Cherry 14 0.5
Kiwi 14 3.0
Persimmon 14 0.2
Fig 15 0.4
Grape 16 0.2
Banana 17 0.3
Litchi 17 0.3
Other information gleaned out of this book:
If you need to quickly chill liquids for drinking, he
ran the following experiments and got the following results:
Time to chill wine (in bottles) at 70-75 degrees F
to a temperature of 50 degrees F
took 2 hours to chill in a refridgerator
took 45 minutes to chill in a freezer
(30 minutes to chill to 55 deg)
took 20 minutes chilled in an ice bath
(due to better heat transfer between water and glass)
(also no danger of over-cooling)
Time to chill a bottle of beer at 70-75 degrees F
to a temperature of 45 degrees F
took 3 hours to chill in a refridgerator
took 40 minutes to chill in a freezer
took 25 minutes chilled in an ice bath
(due to better heat transfer between water and glass)
(also no danger of over-cooling)
Time to chill a can of beer at 70-75 degrees F
to a temperature of 45 degrees F
took 3 hours to chill in a refridgerator
took 30 minutes to chill in a freezer
took 15 minutes chilled in an ice bath
(due to better heat transfer between water and alum.)
(also no danger of over-cooling)
If you're really in a hurry, he ran the experiment using
a salt brine and ice solution. He chilled the can of beer
from room temperature to 45 degrees in 8 minutes, and to
38 degrees in 20 minutes. Sorry, no information on time
to reach celler temperatures for the warm beer fans...
Finally, beer poured into a frosted glass got *colder* at
first, so it was the same temperature in the glass 15
minutes after it was poured as it was when it was
first poured!
Rich Webb
************************************************
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 12:41:19 -0500 (CDT)
From: Robert H. Reed <rhreed@icdc.delcoelect.com>
Subject: Brass / Zima
Paddy writes:
> I just heard this morning (4/17/94) that there is a problem with well
> water pumps with brass equipment. Apparently, the brass leaks (?)
> high levels of lead. If brass can leak lead into water, what about
> wort? I have notices several methods of modifying kettles using brass
> fixtures. Is the use of brass for brewing now in question?
>
I heard this same news item and my understanding was several pump
manufacturing companies were using lead solder to assemble their pumps. I
don't think the brass (copper + zinc) components were a problem, but the
lead based solder used in their manufacture.
<snip>
> I saw a tv ad for Zimma over the weekend. The narrator ask what would
> you drink if there was no beer?
Scotch...
Well, it sure as hell wouldn't be
> Zimma. The best description I could give of the taste of Zimma is
> lemon flavored Alka-Selter (sp?).
This makes it suitable to settle your stomach after an evening session
of Barley Wine.
Rob Reed
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 12:44:29 CDT
From: Jeffrey A. Ziehler <ziehler@post.its.mcw.edu>
Subject: brewpubs/micros in Wash. D.C. & kegging system
Hey hbd'ers,
I am going to be in Washington D.C. for the American Society for
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology meeting in May and was wondering about
good brewpubs/micros in the D.C./Georgetown area preferably around downtown
(near the Washington Convention Center) or perhaps with easy Metro access.
I'll be there from May 21-25 at the ASBMB meeting so if you happen to be
around, stop by my poster (Sunday 12:15-2pm, session 23, program #288, board
#F23 at the Washington Convention Center Exhibit Hall). I'm a graduate
student working on protein synthesis in our favorite unicellular eukaryote,
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. private E-mail is fine, or post.
Also, does anyone know were I can mail order a kegging system cheaply?
Jeff
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 14:09:33 EDT
From: fudgemastr@aol.com
Subject: extract vs all grain, TB BEERS?
I haven't gotten around to purchasing an 8 gallon brew pot yet. I wanted to
see if I would like it. So what I did was brewed a double brew. Yes it took
forever (about 8 hours) but it was fun, and I got to see if I really liked it
and if the equipment I bought was really going to work.
This is what I bought.
A propane bruner (Cajun Cooker) 135,000 BTU, it cost me $59. (and it came
with a groovy pot and frying basket that's great for deep frying chicken)
a Picnic cooler, 5 gallons Gott. $20. I use a sparge bag to keep the grains
up. I cut the bottom out of a 5 gal plastic bucket (food grade) that I stole
from behind a local Italian restaurant, cut slits in it from the sides to the
center about every 1.5 in in circumfrence to let the wort drain out. This
plastic disc goes on the bottom of the cooler and keeps the sparge bag off of
the drain valve in the cooler. Sorta like a false bottom if you would.
A coffee maker, $2 at a thrift shop. I read in an earlier HBD about someone
who tweeked a coffee maker to put out 172 degree water. Well, this one does
anyway, so no tweeking was needed. It's made by Melitta, model ACM-10M/4,
but the fact that it's 900 watts is probably the most important factor. I
just hang it on the cooler with the spout hanging over the top, and pour
water into the reservor as it empties. I measure the water out first.
I use I two litre plastic bottles (about 2 bucks for both) to chill my brew
it the brew pot. Empty it, and pull off the bottom piece so nasties can't
get in there, fill it with water and freeze it the night before (careful not
to overfill). Then I drop it into the boiling brew at the end of boil to
chill the brew, yes I sterilize it first, though I am dropping it into
boiling brew, so just making sure the outside is clean it probably good enuf.
After about 15 - 20 minutes, the wort is good to pitch.
That was all I needed to go all grain. I cut the recipe that I was using in
half, and brewed twice to fill up my carboy. It was great, now I'm going to
have a keg party, keep the keg, and have a brew kettle for about $10.
Fudgemastr@AOL.COM
P.S. I am trying to get into contact with the Tampa Bay B.E.E.R.S. anyone
out there a BEER? Please give me a number (voice) where I can reach you.
brewing is a profession, hobby, sport. Well two out of three ain't bad.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 12:11:50 MDT
From: npyle@n33.ecae.stortek.com
Subject: Barrier Zips?
In the Hop Source catalog, oxygen barrier zip-lock bags are mentioned. Does
anyone know where I might find such a beast? They sure would be great for
storing hops (and even specialty grains), and would obviate the need for a
home sealer.
Cheers,
Norm
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 14:50:29 EDT
From: "Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616" <wagnecz@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Re: Cost results and Cooler question...
If I had it all over again, I would go with the Gott 10 gallon "Tower of
Power". I am currently using a rectangular 48 qrt. thermos square
cooler that in fact was one of the few surviving pieces of equipment
from the "great canoe mishap ('nough said!). I use a 1/2 inch 6 foot
copper manifold (R-type copper) that has 1/4" slots on the underneath
(ala hacksaw). I feel that the use of slots rather than holes has so
far prevented me from experiencing a stuck runoff (the last batch of
weizzen was 66% wheat malt). All in all, good performance.
The Gott (I believe...) would give a better yield due to
the fact that it would have a smaller cross-sectional area to grain
volume ratio (when full), forcing the sparge water to pass through more grain
on its way through the grain bed, as compared to a rectangular setup.
(Maybe not a higher yield, but less sparge or less water to boil off?)
Another thought I had was that the Gott exposes less headspace
and grain bed topside, and should loose less heat when opened for
temp. checks or stirring during mashing. I don't usually have a
problem when I do a single step infusion mash, but sometimes I find
myself pulling a gallon or two for a decotion when I do the 2-step
(with the rectangular) to hold temperature (I try to hold back as
much water for the sparge rather than to waste it on heat add's).
I too would like to hear people's comments on this, as the
rectangular unit is getting close to terminal condition and will
need replacement!
Glen
------------------------------
Date: 19 Apr 94 13:23:00 EST
From: "CANNON_TOM" <CANNON_TOM@hq.navsea.navy.mil>
Subject: Notes on a London Beer Hunt
Message Creation Date was at 19-APR-1994 13:23:00
Andy Anderson and I are just back from a short beer hunting
trip to the UK and Belgium. Here are a few notes which may
be of interest to the HBD.
The price of beer continues to rise. I lived in London for
one year ('87-'88) and paid, on average, 1.10 pounds per
pint. During my last trip in '92, we were paying about 1.55
pounds per pint, but this year, we were afforded the
opportunity to finally have our first 2 pound pint (2.04 for
a pint of Abbott Ale at The George in Southwark - you pay
for your history). The average price in London is about
1.80, but the Wetherspoon chain still offers Youngers for
99p and there is one of their pubs conveniently located in
Leicester Square (The Moon Under the Water).
Brewery Tours: We were able to take in the Youngs tour, but
couldn't get to Fullers due to timing. At Youngs, it is
essential to call well in advance to reserve a spot. I
wrote them three weeks before our trip and then called when
we got there. Of course, they never saw the letter, and
only through pleading (Andy's good at that) they were able
to squeeze us in. The tour is a mixed bag. You spend way
too much time looking at all the Youngs' horses, and the
tour guides are not real knowledgeable, but they take you
all over their brewery and you get to stick your nose in
their open fermenters (we were shocked when one of the
people in our tour group stuck his hand into the kreusen and
the British Anti-terrorist Unit didn't shoot him on the spot
:-)). They really seemed rather casual about open fermenter
sanitation. I guess they just depend upon a strong
kreusen-head and the fact the beer will be consumed within 3
weeks of brewing. The tour guides will also find a brewer
for you to get questions answered. And you get as much
fresh Youngs beer to drink as you want. I would recommend
the tour, but plan on about 2.5 hours out of your pub
crawling time. The Fullers tour is much more structured on
time. They have tours available on Mondays and Wednesdays
and 1:00 and Thursdays at 1:00 and 4:00. Good idea to call
in advance. Fullers charges a nominal fee.
Cellar Tours: A highly recommended tour is at the White
Horse on Parsons Green where they go out of their way to
provide cellar tours almost on demand. For those of you who
have seen Michael Jackson's "The Beer Hunter" series, this
is the pub in London where he also takes the viewer on a
cellar tour. We walked into the pub on a very busy Friday
night and got a tour without any problems. Their cellarmen
are excellent and give a very nice discussion of the
cellaring process. I should note that during my year in
London in '87, the White Horse was one of my locals and was
considered a Yuppie pub with a pretty dismal selection of
beer. It has evolved in the past 7 years into a beer lovers
paradise in South West London. 5 to 6 real ales (including
Adnams ESB-Winner of last years GBBF). Also rotating
specials. In March they had Anchor Porter on draft, and
coming in May will be Budweiser Budvar. Finally, they have
in bottles ALL of the trappist beers for about $5.50 a
bottle.
The trip has gotten me primed for trying cask conditioning
home brew. Does anyone have any experience in real cask
conditioning? I'm also very interested in acquiring a beer
engine. Any sources would be greatly appreciated.
Hope this was of interest.
Tom Cannon
DH Brewery
Fairfax/Annandale VA
------------------------------
Date: 19 Apr 94 18:00:00 GMT
From: korz@iepubj.att.com (Algis R Korzonas +1 708 979 8583)
Subject: Carpils/Mashout by adding hot water/tapping your chest/Kazakhstan
Todd writes:
which grains to steep. Carapils is the one that one that
generated the most confusion. Mike cites Miller as one of
<snip>
I too am looking for a final answer to the questions on
this malt.
Carapils is just a pale crystal (aka caramel) malt and *does not* have
to be mashed. Really!
************
Rich writes:
>of grain in water. After the starch has been converted, it
>really doesn't matter how thick the mash is. Therefore
>"mashing-out" can be accomplished by adding large quantities
>of hot (sparge) water to the cooler/mash/lauter tun. The
>liquid is then drained off while new, clear, hot water is
>added on top.
Yes, but depending on how thin your mash was to begin with and
how much heat you lost during saccharification and depending on
the size of your lauter tun, you:
1) may not be able to add enough boiling water to raise the temperature
enough and
2) whatever amount water you use to raise the temperature you must take
away from the water you had planned to sparge with (unless you have a
huge kettle and don't mind the hours it will take to boil 10 gallons of
runnings down to 5 gallons of wort).
Batch sparging (the adding a lot of sparge water and then running off
everything out of the lauter tun, repeatedly) is theoretically less efficient
than a continuous sparge (in which you run off and sparge at the same
time). Adding part of your sparge water at the beginning is similar to
doing part of the lauter as a batch sparge and part as a continuous. I
don't want to make it sound like this is a big deal... it's just theoretically
slightly lower utilization -- there are a number of other factors that
can give you much worse extract efficiency.
>The idea is that the first runnings will
>have the majority of the dissolved sugars, while subsequent
>runnings will leech out the remaining sugars. Something
>that confused me for a long time. The admonisition against
>high temperatures during the sparge seems to be a reaction
>of the pH and temperature environmental standards. As the
>sugar content is reduced, the pH of the wort increases.
>This, coupled with the increasing temperatures, begins
>to leech out tannins from the grain husks. Thus is seems
>that we are allowed to raise the temperature to anything
>short of incandescence, as long as the pH remains low.
Not quite... it's not the sugars that are keeping the pH low,
rather it is compounds such as phytic acid and as this gets
drained out of the tun and replaced by 7 or 8 or 9 pH water, the
pH rises, beginning to cause problems with tannins. Before
mashout (as in the case of decoctions) you can indeed boil parts
of the mash with no problems, but once you are done with
saccharification, you must make sure you do not gelatinize
any more starch because there will be no enzymes to convert it.
Therefore, at mashout, you should not let the mash get any
higher than about 170F.
*********
Glenn writes:
>I am currently deciding where to place the taps on my chest freezer and am
<snip>
>the walls of the chest freezer (yet), does anyone have any warnings?
Other than the obvious, make sure to seal the holes from both sides with
some kind of gaskets or caulk to keep your insulation from absorbing
moisture from the outside (making it very inefficient).
********
Jim asks about brewpubs in Novoalelseyevka, Kazakhstan.
Aside from the Voskoteska and Kahzavona near the train station (which
are excellent as always), rumour has it that brewmaster Edmjund Bronskovich
has two beers on-line at the new Taloryensk Bravdasch Kompanya on 5th Avenue
in the western suburb of Narpavilov.
Al.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 1994 14:15:29 -0500 (CDT)
From: Rich Larsen <richl@access1.speedway.net>
Subject: Beginner Recipe
>I've done a number of test beers with very similar recipes as the
>one I posted and have (with care) had minimal scorching.
Not critisizing, but a begginer may not use the proper amount of
care first time out.
>I would recommend
>against boiling 2.75 gallons of wort in a pot any smaller than 4 gallons.
>My intent regarding the small boil were so that the wort would comfortably
>fit in a pot of about 2.5- to 3-gallons, which is much more easily accessable
>to beginners than larger kettles. The lack of a need for an oversized kettle
>is important when trying to convince non-brewers to give homebrewing a try.
>I'm just trying to minimize the expense of beginning brewing, that's all.
I suppose if he doesn't have the proper equipment, then its worth a shot.
If, on the other hand he does have a 20 qt canning pot available...
>Regarding the addition of hops for aroma, that's a fine idea, but my intent
>was to really make this simple. Also, if any hops *were* to be added at this
>point in the boil, it's important to mention they should be "aroma" hops.
Good point on the aroma hops. My thoughts were to give the first time
brewer a feel for the fun of homebrewing and a good chance for making him
say "WOW" on his first attempt.
>Clusters...
Yeah, I used those on my first batch... called it 'ol rubber hose ale (X-Q)
=> Rich
Rich Larsen (708) 388-3514
The Blind Dog Brewery "HomeBrewPub", Midlothian, IL
(Not a commercial establishment)
"I never drink... Wine." Bela Lugosi as Dracula
------------------------------
Date: 19 Apr 94 11:43:04 EDT
From: "Glenace L. Melton" <71242.2275@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Enamel on steel pots
Bob Bessette asked about the strength of a 33-qt enamel-on-steel pot. In
one instance I was using an almost new 12 qt. pot full of cold water; one
of the handles came off. The enamel concealed a faulty weld. I was
fortunate in that the pot did not contain hot water or wort; the
manufacturer (somewhere in the Midwest) replaced the pot under warranty.
However, I would strongly urge that anyone buying any such pot to test the
handles by trying to break them off. If you succeed, take it back and
exchange it.
[END]
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 15:34:44 EDT
From: "Glen A. Wagnecz, X6616" <wagnecz@PICA.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: Re: hoptech ?
Hoptech is at 1(800) DRY-HOPS (disclaimer: satisfied customer, bla,bla)
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 11:57:00 PDT
From: Timothy Sixberry <tsixber@msrapid.kla.com>
Subject: Watney's Red Barrel Recipe
Hello Brewers,
I looking for an all grain recipe for Watney's Red Barrel. I know someone
out there must have it, cause it is Yummy !!!!!!
------------------------------
End of HOMEBREW Digest #1403, 04/20/94
*************************************
-------
